The US has indicated that two cases on TRIPS and distribution rights will be brought against China. Here are my two cents on the two cases: 1st case: According to TRIPS Article 61, Members must provide remedies for IPR violation, which shall include imprisonment and/or monetary fines sufficient to

In June 2003, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi organized a Consultative Board of eight eminent persons to study institutional challenges facing the WTO and to consider how best to meet those challenges. The resulting report generated a flurry of academic commentary (see here and here); whether it will have a

There have been a lot of news reports regarding the decision by the Department of Commerce to change gears and apply countervailing duties to non-market economies like China (on certain paper imports right now, but possibly many new products in the future).  There are a number of specific legal

This article in the current issue of The World Economy looks interesting: How Do Differing Standards Increase Trade Costs? The Case of Pallets * Gaël Raballand 11The World Bank and * Enrique Aldaz-Carroll 11The World Bank * 1The World Bank Abstract The pallet is a platform used for storing, handling and transporting

Korea and the U.S. have agreed to an FTA.  Ben Muse has a useful post here detailing the history of the negotiations.  USTR's press release about the agreement is here. Based on news reports, key issues in the negotiations were resolved as follows.  From the AP: South

Joan Robinson, criticizing false rigor, was fond of saying that "an elephant is hard to define but easy to recognize! " I wonder if this metaphor applies to the issue of "unfairness" in international trade. I say that because I have noticed that many recent posts on

Greg Mankiw is famous (infamous?) for his statements about offshoring back in 2004, when he was Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.  At the time, he said: the "offshoring" of U.S. service jobs is only "the latest manifestation of the gains from trade

Today's FT reports that the U.S.-Korea FTA may be held up because of unsatisfactory investment protection provisions: Against a backdrop of rising economic nationalism, the state audit board has called for the purchase [of Korea Exchange Bank by Lone Star, a U.S. company] to be

The Seventh Annual BIICL WTO Conference is coming up on 22-23 May 2007, in London.  It's a great group of participants as always.  The topics are: 1. The GMOs Dispute 2. Compliance and Remedies: Articles 21.5 and 22 DSU 3. Dispute Settlement under FTAs and the